‘Conan’ to Launch With Online Show a Week Before TV Debut

Conan O’Brien and TBS are giving Coco fans more Internet love ahead of his late night cable debut.

O’Brien and the network announced on Thursday that on Nov. 1 at 11 p.m. (ET) they will air “Show Zero” online via YouTube, Facebook and the show’s TeamCoco.com website.

The "triple simulcast," as the network is calling it, will come a week before the Nov. 8 debut of “Conan” on TBS.

The move comes on the heels of O’Brien’s “Live Coco Cam,” which gave the Coco faithful a 24-hour behind-the-scenes look inside the show’s offices.

According to TBS, “Show Zero” will “feature celebrity guests, elements of ‘The Basic Cable Band’ and Andy Richter” — and will be shot from the Conan’s production offices at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank.

Jimmy Fallon, who took over Conan’s “Late Night” slot, did a similar, online-only series ahead of his show’s 2009 debut on NBC.

Meanwhile, Vanity Fair just published an excerpt from Bill Carter's upcoming "Late Shift" sequel, "The War for Late Night." Here's a scene:

“What’s wrong?” [O'Brien's manager Gavin] Polone asked. “That was a really funny show. Things are going great. The show is growing; you’re doing good work every night. The numbers aren’t there yet, but that’s because of Jay.”

Conan’s glum expression was unchanged. “I just have a bad feeling,” he said. “I just think Jay’s going to hurt me in some way.”